22/45
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: We have no defense against stupidity
Synopsis
As the world teeters on the brink of destruction, Dietrich Bonhoeffer joins a deadly conspiracy to assassinate Hitler, risking his faith and his fate to save millions of Jews from genocide. Actor Niemoeller August Diehl previously played an SS Gestapo officer in The Merciless Scum (2009) and a German citizen who resisted conscription into the German army in Hidden Life (2019).
Reasoning is of no use
Neither protest nor violence can touch it. Facts that contradict personal prejudices can simply be made to believe – indeed, a fool can resist criticizing them, and if they are undeniable, they can only be dismissed as trivial exceptions.
As a “docu-allegory”; this is a solid 7; the historicity is woven together quite well, and the fictional account of his death is deeply Christian and compelling
But as a biography, the fundamental errors (referring to the Eastern Front before Barbarossa) and the relocation of the final scene of his death from Flossenburg with his co-conspirators to an isolated, anonymous farm where random groups of strangers are present are too far-fetched. Germany may have restrictions on such things, but for me it was a missed opportunity not to use Flossenburg for the critical scenes, as Sophie Scholl – The Last Days used the guillotine that killed Scholl in the film.
The cavalcade of quotes at the end is more than worth the time
At times Bonhoeffer simply doesn’t seem like the educated theologian he was, but rather like a Protestant who sent out proof texts. Still, this is a "must-see" if you’re willing to accept major departures from history and don’t expect a deep theological journey.
And this is a truly timeless message
Bonhoeffer reminds us that every generation faces its own evil; that each individual must either act or let evil happen; and that Christ guides that choice.